Bittersweet
by BeautifulxxDisasterx
Summary: For Taylor, leaving the island puts a bittersweet taste in her mouth. TxJ oneshot


_Summary: For Taylor, leaving the island was bittersweet. TaylorxJackson oneshot_

_I knew a flurry of oneshot ideas would come to me. I just knew it! I have three. Seriously. THREE oneshot ideas! Two of which I'm planning on posting today...although that might not work out. Depends..._

_Disclaimer: I own plot, idea, writing, and Joe Jonas._

**Bittersweet**

A blond girl sat silently on a log in a secluded part of the beach. Her feet lay in a place that let the water reach out just enough to tickled her feet. The breeze ran its fingers through her hair, and the sun warmed her already tan skin.

She closed her eyes, happy to be be away from the chaos back at camp. She needed to find peace within herself before she left. Somehow she just felt an attachment to the island, as if the island was actually her home.

Suddenly, she felt someone sit next to her. Recognizing the distinct scent, she smiled only subtly.

"Hey Jackson." she whispered, opening her eyes. He beamed at her.

"Hey, Tay." Taylor felt a pang at her core as she gazed at him. There was so much life in his eyes. Life that hadn't been there before. In a sense, she knew she had brought it there. She missed him already.

"So how do you feel about all this?" he inquired curiously, cocking his head to the side and placing a hand gently on her thigh. She felt another pang.

"Bittersweet." she responded.

"How so?"

"Sweet for obvious reason. Bitter because we have to go back to reality, Jackson." she explained, a sad smile crossing her lips. She gazed at him straight into his deep blue eyes, wishing she had the time to find all that was hiding in them. Jackson cocked his head to the side slightly.

"Isn't that good? I mean, hasn't what we've developed here become reality?"

Taylor heaved a sigh.

"No. Jackson, we both know that what developed here was only an escape. It was only something to pass the time. When we get back home, things go back to the way they were. You'll be the charity case that Melissa likes, and I'll be the stuck up rich girl. You and Melissa will get together, and I'll be getting a new boyfriend every month. Its all the scheme of things. Its the way things work. We can't get away from them just because we were stranded on an island for a month or so."

He stared at her then, trying to take in what she was saying.

"Do you think that when we get back, I'm suddenly not going to have feelings for you, and I'll like Melissa?" he asked slowly.

"I know thats going to happen."

"And how do you know this?" Taylor felt tears burning behind her eyes, but she forced them away. She couldn't let him see that this hurt her.

"Because Daley was right. What we have here is only a delusion of the mind. Reality will set in once we get back to the island. We can't run from that, Jackson. Sooner or later it always catches up to us. And reality is that we were never meant to be together. We only think we were because of this island. We are nothing out there in the real world. We are only a couple of people who happen to know each other." Taylor countered. She say the hurt in his eyes, and she tried to cover it up in her own. Of course she didn't want to "end" it with Jackson, but she had to. She could see it every day that he liked Melissa, not her. She knew he would see it once they got back to the real world, and she wanted to save herself the hurt.

Not that it hurt any less.

"Tay, I don't know what you've been seeing, but I don't like Melissa as anything more then a friend. I like her no more then I like Daley or Nathan or Lex. What we have it real to me. Everything I feel when I look at you is real. Everything I feel when I even hear your name or feel you close to me is as real at the hands in front of me. They're more real then anything I've ever felt. When I'm with you, I feel the closest to being alive that I've felt in a long time.

"Taylor, I'm not really quite sure what this feeling I get around you is. It could be love, but I wouldn't know because I've never felt it before. If love is feeling alive, if love is finding who you are, if love is feeling things you've never felt before, if love feels new and untouched, if love tastes like the sweetest chocolate or feels like heaven or looks like you do when you're on this island having not showered in a couple days with no make up on and just when you wake up in the morning then it's love. Not doubt in my mind." Jackson finished with a slight smile on his lips.

By this time, Taylor had disregarded her held in tears, and one had broken free. It slid down her face quickly, but was swiped away by Jackson's thumb as he cupped her cheek with her hand. Another tear fell followed by another and another.

"I don't want to be hurt when you realize that you love Melissa." Taylor confessed, answering the question he held within his eyes.

"Taylor listen to me." he commanded, moving her gaze to meet his when she looked away. "I don't love Melissa. I don't even like her as more then a friend, okay? Please understand that."

"It's not that easy, Jackson. I can't just simply sit here and say that things are okay now and that we can always be together. It doesn't work that way." she stood, and her eyes narrowed. "Believe me. I've been hurt enough times to know."

But as she stood, Jackson caught her arm and turned her to face him. Without any hesitation, he brought his lips to hers. He held nothing back, trying to let her feel everything that he did. He wanted her to feel the completion he felt. He wanted her to feel the need, to feel the want. He wanted her to feel the passion. He wanted her to know how much she meant to him. He wanted her to know everything he felt, and everything her knew. He wanted her to feel safe with him, to know that he wasn't going to leave her.

And she did.

She felt a sense of completion. She felt like she had everything she'd been missing. As she tangled her hand in his hair, she'd never _felt_ so complete. She felt like she had always had a missing piece of the puzzle, but she knew now that he had been holding it all along. She felt love. She felt need and want. She felt the passion. She knew that he needed her. She knew he felt the same way about her as she did for him. Things made sense now, and she didn't need anymore reassurance than what he was giving her now.

She smiled against his lips, and he pulled her even closer to him, not wanting any space. He needed to feel her close to him. He needed to be able to explore every bit of her, know every inch. His hands roamed her back and hips. She twirled small pieces of his hair between her fingers. His lips departed from hers momentarily as he pressed them to the corner of her mouth and trailed them across her jaw. He lightly kissed the lie of her collar bone and gently touched her shoulder. She placed her hands to his cheeks and brought his lips back up to meet hers. Their fingers tangled together, and the two of the slowly parted.

Their foreheads met one another, their lips staying only centimeters apart. They were both breathing heavily, and Taylor had never felt a moment where everything felt so perfect. As they searched each other's eyes, a moment of understanding passed between the two.

"I think I love you." Taylor whispered. "And it scares me."

"It scares me, too. But as long as I know I have you, I don't mind it." he whispered back, placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Jackson! Taylor!" Daley's voice called. They two turned their heads to face the oncoming redhead.

"Yes?" Jackson asked. Daley beamed at the two.

"Come you lovebirds. Its time to go home."

Taylor rested her head on Jackson's chest and gazed out onto the churning ocean. The clouds were darkening.

"Is it weird to feel like I'm already home?" Taylor inquired. Jackson sighed.

"No." he admitted. "Because I feel the same way."

"Bittersweet." Taylor offered, and he nodded.

They two boarded the last helicopter, but not without one last look out onto the island. Taylor blew a kiss before heading onto the chopper to return to reality.

_Bittersweet_, she echoed to herself, _bittersweet._

_I hope it was alright. I didn't really like the ending, but I hope it was sufficient. _

_Review, loves?_

_--Lani_


End file.
